The Waldorf Morning Warm-Up | The First Part of Main Lesson | AWJ #21

Jul 2

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As I record this, I am in the midst of preparing my new classroom, getting my house ready for our summer-long absence and finishing up my end-of-year reports. It’s a bit of a whirlwind, but I’m excited to leave you all with some content to enjoy while I’m gone.

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Shownotes

I wrote a series of posts about main lesson rhythm awhile ago. Here is the one about the morning warm-up. There is some good information there, but not as thorough as what I talk about in the podcast. I've learned a lot since then.My favorite games books (mentioned in the podcast.)The New Games Book Games Children Play Games For the Playground Home School and GymnasiumIn the past couple of years I encountered a more mainstream philosophy that lines up really well with the Waldorf understanding of the warm-up as I learned it in my teacher training.Responsive Classroom philosophy suggests that every day begins with a 20-30 minute period of time called “morning meeting.” When I read about the 20-30 minute period of time as Responsive Classroom describes it, it resonated very strongly with my Waldorf experience. When I realized how great these ideas worked together, I realized that Responsive Classroom resources would work really well when it came to creating my morning warm-up activities.

Responsive Classroom Resources

The Morning Meeting Book Morning Meeting Ideas for Grades 1-3 Doing Math in Your Morning Meeting Doing Language Arts in Your Morning Meeting 99 Activities and Greetings for Your Morning MeetingI often have a hard time finding activities that are fun, engaging and all about warming my students up so they’re ready for the lesson.Responsive Classroom suggests that the “morning meeting” which we refer to as the warm-up in Waldorf education includes 4 elements• Greeting• Sharing• Group Activity• Morning MessageIn the podcast I go through each one of these and talk about how they line up with Waldorf, what they look like in the classroom, and why they are essential for warming your students up. Along the way, I give some suggestions for activities and some resources that can give you more ideas.Imagine each of these activities as a gradual arriving at school, connecting with each other and getting ready to start the day.